Authors’ Guidelines
Journal of Nepal Dental Association (JNDA) is the official publication of the Nepal Dental Association (NDA). JNDA was first published in September of 1998. Since then it has evolved to biannual, peer-reviewed, indexed, and open access status.
JNDA publishes articles under the following types/categories/sections:
For the publication purpose in JNDA following submissions are essential:
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL SUBMISSIONS
The manuscripts should be written in British English and comply with the following guidelines:
Title and Authorship Format
Title should be in title case (upper case for all initial letters, mainly nouns, and pronouns) and in centre alignment (Ctrl+E in MS Word in Windows). E.g.,
“Healing Response to Nonsurgical Periodontal Therapy among Smokers and Nonsmokers”
The authors’ names should be in full (complete name), right alignment (Ctrl+R in MS Word in Windows), and JNDA follows the prefix of Mr./Ms./Dr. only.
The superscripts for institutional/ organisational affiliations should be placed after full name and comma. Each author is given a separate Hindu-Arabic number. E.g.,
Dr. Ranjita Shrestha Gorkhali,1 Dr. Shaili Pradhan,2 Dr. Khushboo Goel,3 Dr. Navaraj Lamdari4
1,2Periodontology and Oral Implantology Unit, Dental Department, Bir Hospital, National Academy of Medical Sciences, Mahabouddha, Kathmandu, Nepal
3Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Sunsari, Dharan, Nepal
4Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, College of Medical Sciences, Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal
For correspondence, the details (affiliation, phone numbers, designation, etc) should be mentioned in the cover letter and title page. In the manuscript, please write only the name of the corresponding author and email under the heading “Correspondence” as it would appear in the final published article. The email should be in plain text and not hyperlinked. E.g.,
Correspondence:
Dr. Ranjita Shrestha Gorkhali. Email: ranjish2@yahoo.com
Legends of Table and Figures
Tables and Figures: not more than six in total (For Case Report/Series please check below as well as under the relevant section). Please do not merge/collage multiple "Figures/Pictures" to make one. They will be counted as individual figures/pictures and not accepted in JNDA if the figure limit is crossed.
For all manuscripts except Case Report/Series, the numbers of Tables and Figures should not be more than six, both combined. For Case Report, it shall have no more than 12 figures and Case Series can have up to 24 figures. Under special circumstances, if you need to have more than the allowed number of tables/figures, kindly contact the JNDA Editorial Board.
The main headings in Tables should be centrally aligned. For the contents of the table, all text should be left-aligned and numbers centrally aligned.
The legends of tables should be written ABOVE the tables while for figures they should be written BELOW the respective figures. JNDA keeps graphs, charts, bar diagrams, photographs, etc., all under the FIGURE heading. So, no other headings besides, the Tables or Figures.
Though it is not mandatory, JNDA prefers full forms instead of abbreviations in the legends. Also, it is preferred that high-quality pictures/photographs should be attached separately as well, in addition to keeping in the manuscript.
Table number colon legend full stop
(The first letter of the first word uppercase rest lowercase)
E.g.,
Table 1: Prevalence of dental anomalies present.
Figure 1: Distribution of subjects based on the impact on performance.
REFERENCES
REFERENCES no more than eight for Editorial, Guest Editorial, Letter to the Editor, NDA News/Activities, Commentaries, and Miscellaneous sections. A maximum of 10 references for Case Report, Short Communication, View Point, Dental Education, and Student JNDA sections. No more than 30 references for Research Article, Protocol, and Case Series (with Literature Review). A maximum of 50 references for the Review Article section.
The “in-text citations” should be in superscript, Hindu-Arabic numbers without brackets, preferably at the end of the sentences, after the full stops. The “in-text citations” can be kept within sentences if required at certain instances like citing two or more than two references in the same sentence and they need to be differentiated.
REFERENCES should be in Citing Medicine style. It is similar to the Vancouver referencing style with a full stop after the journal name. The Citing Medicine is the newer version of the Vancouver referencing style. There is no Vancouver referencing style after 2007 A.D. If there are more than three authors, please include the names of only three authors followed by et al. (last name; initials of the first and middle names; comma and next two authors in same manner; then comma and et al.). Write abbreviated journal name. Always keep full stop after journal name. The titles of cited REFERENCES in sentence case (meaning, only the first letter of the sentence in upper case, rest all lower case). Write index names of journals. No italicising of the journal name. No space after year. The page numbers 202-213 written as 202-13, common numeral or number is omitted.
In main body, the reference citations should be in sequence. Citations should be placed as superscript after comma or full stop and there should be no space after comma or full stop.
Please check punctuation and lack of spacing in at least 3-4 already published articles in most recent issue. Rules of punctuation should be strictly followed: Index name of journals, the use of full stop, space, semicolons, and colon according to Citing Medicine referencing style (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/).
E.g., Thapa P, Kc S, Hamal AB, et al. Prevalence of acute kidney injury in patients with liver cirrhosis. J Nepal Med Assoc. 2020 Aug 31;58(228):554-9. [PubMed | Full Text | DOI]
The JNDA requests you to hyperlink all the three links of cited articles PubMed, Full text (the link to PDF in the journal site or wherever available) and DOI in following order: [PubMed | Full Text | DOI] at the end of each reference. When you hyperlink (Ctrl+K) the respective words with their web addresses, please do not hyperlink the bracket arms or the separation bars. If all three links are not available, at least provide Full Text link. The Full Text should be preferably from Journal website and not PMC, ResearchGate, SciHub.
Sometimes PubMed and DOI may not be available, that is acceptable, but Full Text should always be there. Full Text link is usually taken from the Journal webpage. Not hyperlinking Full Text will imply, you have not read the article in full and citing based only on Abstract or previous articles. The PubMed and PubMed Central have different links, please use PubMed ones for PubMed. You may use PubMed Central for Full Text ONLY if the journal where it is published is unavailable. No Sci-hub hyperlinks please; PMC and ResearchGate might be acceptable sometimes for Full Text purposes.
At the end of each reference, please use a hyphen instead of an en-dash or em-dash while denoting page numbers and be uniform in your writing (though standard is en-dash, for convenience, in JNDA we use hyphen).
Most DOI links done by author are often invalid. For DOI, try "right click" and "copy link address".
SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR EACH SUBMISSION CATEGORY
Instructions for Editorial/ Guest Editorial
They are written by invitation or produced in-house. It would state the opinions expressed in editorials and those of the author alone. They are in no way intended to express the official viewpoint of the journal, the board, or JNDA. Up to 800 words excluding references which in turn are restricted to a maximum of eight in number are allowed.
Instructions for Original/ Research Article
ABSTRACT - word limit-300 excluding keywords.
Structured as: Introduction; Objective; Methodology; Result; Conclusion.
Keywords: Three to six keywords (MeSH terms check at https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search) arranged alphabetically separated by semicolons and ending with a full stop. Only the first letter of the first keyword upper case, rest lower case. No abbreviations.
INTRODUCTION in a maximum of 300 words. Anything extra can be strategically placed in METHODOLOGY or DISCUSSION sections.
State the background of the study, rationale, and objective. In the background, the information should be given as global, regional, and local.
METHODOLOGY
State the a) study design, b) place and duration of the study, c) sample size and sampling technique, d) inclusion and exclusion criteria, e) ethical approval and informed consent, and f) statistical analysis and software used. Please do not use separate headings for study design (and other topics mentioned in the previous sentence) or other headings for inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria, data analysis, etc. Also, mention everything in paragraphs, not bullets or numbers.
RESULT
State the main findings first then move towards the rest of the findings. All the findings should be in n (%) format. For decimal values in findings, please mention up to one or two decimal values except for the P values where up to three decimal values are allowed but please be uniform throughout one submission or document.
In the legends of tables and figures, write the complete words, preferably no abbreviations: "Table Table number separated from the title by a colon" and Figure, not Fig. The title should be in "Sentence Case" and the table or figure number separated by a colon. The first letter of title upper case, rest all lower case.
Table 1: Title should be in brief.
Figure 1: Title should be simple.
For detail please check under general instructions for the "Legends of Tables and Figures" section.
DISCUSSION (limitation within it).
CONCLUSION The conclusion section should not contain the numeric findings but the conclusion you have drawn from the findings. Please write "recommendation" within this section.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (optional and no more than 100 words).
Just name the individual or organisation. Please do not use this section as a praising platform for your bosses, seniors, family, friends, colleagues, and others.
Conflict of interest: None. If any conflict or disclosure present, please mention here or write "None" if no conflict. Financial support not falling under “Conflict of interest” can be mentioned under the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT section.
REFERENCES: No more than 30 references are allowed.
NO OTHER HEADINGS besides these. For legends of tables and figures, check under the general instructions.
Total word limitation - 3000 excluding abstract, references, and legends of tables and figures.
Instructions for Review Article
ABSTRACT - word limit-300 excluding keywords. Not structured.
Keywords: Three to six keywords (MeSH terms check at https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search) arranged alphabetically separated by semicolons and ending with a full stop. Only the first letter of the first keyword upper case, rest lower case. No abbreviations.
INTRODUCTION in a maximum of 300 words should include the background of the review, rationale for doing the review. Main points to focus.
OTHER APPROPRIATE HEADINGS (Main headings should be in UPPER CASE while Sub headings can be in Title Case or Sentence case as appropriate)
NO CONCLUSION section (latest format of JNDA review article section does not keep a conclusion, if you feel necessary, write a SUMMARY instead).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (optional and no more than 100 words)
Just name the individual or organisation. Please do not use this section as a praising platform for your bosses, seniors, family, friends, colleagues, and others.
Conflict of interest None. If any conflict or disclosure present, please mention here or write "None" if no conflict. Financial support not falling under “Conflict of interest” can be mentioned under the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT section.
REFERENCES: A minimum of 30 references and no more than 50 references.
For legends of tables and figures, check under the general instructions.
Total word limitation - 4500 excluding abstract, references, and legends of tables and figures.
For a Systematic Review or Meta-analysis, please follow the PRISMA recommendations. You can access the relevant information from their website at http://www.prisma-statement.org/
Instructions for Case Report/ Case Series (with Literature Review)
Case Report should have a maximum of four authors but no limit on the number of authors for Case Series with Literature Review.
Case Report should have no more than four patients while five to 10 patients can be reported in Case Series with Literature Review. That means a Case Series should not report more than 10 patients.
Case Report shall have no more than 12 figures and Case Series can have up to 24 figures. Under special circumstances, if you need to add more figures please contact JNDA Editorial Team.
Please do not merge/collage multiple "Figures/Pictures" to make one. They will be counted as individual figures/pictures and not accepted in JNDA if the figure limit is crossed.
ABSTRACT - word limit-300 excluding keywords. Not structured.
Keywords: Three to six keywords (MeSH terms check at https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search) arranged alphabetically separated by semicolon and ending with a full stop. Only the first letter of the first keyword upper case, rest lower case. No abbreviations.
INTRODUCTION in a maximum of 300 (same for case series) words should include the background of the case being reported.
CASE REPORT The case(s) being reported should be new/interesting/rare with clinical significance or implications.
DISCUSSION
Other Appropriate headings:
NO CONCLUSION section (latest format of JNDA case report section does not keep a conclusion, if you feel necessary, write a SUMMARY instead).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (optional and no more than 100 words).
Just name the individual or organisation. Please do not use this section as a praising platform for your bosses, seniors, family, friends, colleagues, and others.
Conflict of interest None. If any conflict or disclosure present, please mention here or write "None" if no conflict. Financial support not falling under “Conflict of interest” can be mentioned under the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT section.
REFERENCES: No more than 10 references except for "case report with literature review" where a maximum of 30 references is allowed.
For legends of tables and figures, check under the general instructions.
Total word limitation - 1500 (3000 for case report with literature review) excluding abstract, references, and legends of tables and figures.
NDA News/Activities
This section includes information about various activities of NDA. The submission to this section is open to Nepal Dental Association only.
Instructions for Letter to the Editor
It should be up to 400 words and cite a maximum of eight references and may concern any item felt to be of interest to the readership, or more usually be a question or critique concerning a paper. Letters may be subject to peer review.
Instructions for the View Point
The articles under this heading are the personal opinions and perspectives that allow the author(s) to express their own point of view on issues relevant to health. They should be of scientific or clinical value. The purpose may be to raise awareness, new ideas, thought-provoking concepts, and personal expert opinion to improve health. Current or ongoing controversial topics are recommended to be probed into. Up to 1000 words excluding references which in turn are restricted to a maximum of 10 in number are allowed.
Instructions for Miscellaneous/ Commentaries
Submission based on some experience, education, or a variety of topic which has some clinical or scientific value that does not fall under any of the above categories. Word limit – 800. References - maximum of eight in number.
Note: It is also required that the corresponding author clearly specifies the type of article s/he is submitting. However, the final decision under which category the article is published rests on the decision of the JNDA editorial board. In such a case, the author will be duly informed regarding the decision. The author will have the right to withdraw the article if s/he chooses but must do so within the specified time.
Disclaimer: The research studies or statements presented in the JNDA are the personal opinions and expressions of authors and in no way represent the official stance of JNDA Editorial Board. Neither JNDA nor NDA shall be held responsible, under any circumstances, for any loss or harm due to information provided in JNDA.
This guideline has been updated on 2024 April 09.
The last date of submission for 2024 Vol. 24 No. 1 Issue 38 (Jan-Jun) is --> 2024 April 30.